Back to hobby after 20+ years

[Justmeingardner]

Hi all! New here, and as thread title says, coming back after long time away. I used to keep some Central Americans, some dwarfs, community tanks, etc. Now, am interested strictly in dwarf cichlids because of tank/space restraints...lol. I have kept a couple west africans in the past, but have now decided to try my hand at apistos.
My first tank is a 20L (waiting for a 30L to finish cycling), and I received my first fish 2 days ago. Four wild-caught Apistogramma eunotus and four (of six that shipped) flameback bleeding heart tetras. All seem to be doing well, but I had a couple ?s maybe somebody with more experience can help with.

1) All 4 eunotus are overall gray with black vertical striping. The smaller fish (at least one or two of) have blue on face and sky blue pectorals, They are roughly 1". The dominant fish (1 3/4") shows only a tiny bit of yellow? at tips of pectorals and light blue/white under chin. Very drab. Isn't the dominant fish normally more colorful? Sorry no pics.

2) Do apistogramma change colors according to environment? I have black sand in tank...am wondering if they would display better against a lighter color?

3) The largest fish is very territorial, not tolerating any of the others. He doesn't have to be able to see them, but actively seeks them out to harass. There are LOTS of hiding places and tank has lots of plants. Am thinking of moving him to the 30L (by himself, for now) to see if the others can catch up in size (getting more food, not being harassed constantly, etc.) The other 3 eunotus are much closer in size as well, so am hoping for less aggression.

4) I know Ted Judy uses mirror therapy to help with pair bonding, was wondering if anybody had ever tried it to reduce intraspecific (or conspecific) aggression? Am thinking it might only work while mirror was in tank and result in high stress level in dominant fish. Just a thought, any ideas? Thanks in advance, and I'm glad to be here, able to avail myself of so much knowledge. Mark

 

[Anders247]

Welcome! Fish display better on darker conditions, not lighter.

 

[Justmeingardner]

Thank you Anders. That is what I thought I knew...lol. Realize now that I also should have posted this in the Apistogramma section rather than intros, but oh well. As an update, moved the largest, aggressive fish to another tank, and the next male in line has started to show some nice colors, and is tolerating (more or less) what I am now sure is a female. She seems to like him, and today I saw her put on a horizontal stripe the length of her body, rather than the vertical stripes she had been wearing. From observing pictures of spawning females, this is a good sign, although I don't believe she is ready yet, as she shows no yellow coloration. The other smaller male is starting to be on receiving end of aggression. I don't have enough tanks to separate all the males...lol. I had hoped for a 1M, 2F trio, what I seem to have received is 3M, 1F. Sigh...gotta love that cichlid aggression. Next time, I'll just buy a proven pair!

 

[Anders247]

Yikes...... 3 M 1 F? Rough on the poor female.....

 

[Justmeingardner]

lol...one would THINK so, but...the biggest, most aggressive male now in another tank, new dominant male tolerates her and is now chasing 3rd smallest male of the lot. She is tiny yet (maybe an inch), but something tells me she knows that one day soon she shall rule the tank as queen...lol. So she is smartly biding her time, while quietly making nice with dominant male. Not even sure he sees it yet...lol.

 

[wreidfishguy]

Welcome back I a 5 year break myself a few years back I missed this great hobby I keep dwarf cichlid s and ot

 

[Justmeingardner]

Thanks, and welcome back yourself! Yes, I've missed it, and I'm working with apistos in "community" tanks right now...only 2 tanks, but that alone is keeping me busy. Have a 20L with 3 wild Apisto. Eunotus (I THINK I have 2 males and a female, but they are still young), along with 10 young ember tetras and 2 small bristlenose ancistrus. The other tank is a 30L that currently has a very young pair of apisto double-red agassizi, 4 flameback bleeding heart tetras and 3 of the same bristlenose (red variety).
Watching them reminds me of all I missed out on. My fish are strange...lol. My bleeding hearts (bought as dithers for apistos), don't dither. They fear me and are "ambush hunters", hanging around the bottom hiding until food hits the tank, then they are like a small school of their cousins, the piranha. My Apisto eunotus demolished a small crop of baby water lettuce, despite the fact that everybody says they play well with plants...lol. Not sure if it was curiosity, or because they realize that some foods float, and just assumed plants were to be eaten? The bristlenose in the small tank seem fine, eating algae wafers and visible at times, but I've only seen 1 of 3 in larger tank since I put them in 2 days ago. May have to aquascape this weekend to be sure....grrrrrrr. I love my dwarf cichlids, but am surprised how much I like the tiny ember tetras, as well. They are less than 1/2", I would guess, and they like their "Fry Crack". Saw a couple take in really big pieces of freeze-dried brine shrimp today...so they can be gluttons too!
Nice to meet you, and hope you are enjoying your fish as much as I am mine!